Glossary of Magic Terms

Abracadabra: A magic word used to indicate to the audience that something amazing is about to happen. Other magic words and phrases include: hocus pocus, alakazam, sim sala bim, shazam, presto, great Caesar's ghost, dy-no-mite, d'oh, eat my shorts, and what you talkin' 'bout Willis.

Angles: The corners of magic equipment. Cabinet with pointy corners are said to have "good angles," but, conversely, cards with pointy corners have "bad angles."

Black art: Magic that relies on selling one's soul to the Prince of Darkness instead of sleight of hand.

Burn: Being so mad that you caught a magician doing something fishy that you set his hands on fire.

Cardician: A magician who is also a cardiologist.

Centre tear: Just tearing the middle of a piece of paper and not the edges so you leave sort of a squared paper doughnut behind.

Charlier cut: A fancy way to shuffle cards taught by the magician's Uncle Charley.

Clean: A magician who is pure of spirit and body (rare).

Close-up magic: Magic that's not very interesting unless you can actually see it.

Cold deck: A deck of cards that has been kept in the refrigerator to preserve crispness.

Confederate: Someone who worked for a magician in the southern United States during the Civil War.

Conjurer: Someone who uses magic as an excuse to get out of jury duty.

Corporate magic: Magic performed at trade shows and other such venues for the purpose of interesting potential customers in a product. For example, "I see that from this tarot deck you freely selected the death card, which reminds me -- are you fully insured?"

Crimp: A card man with a bad leg.

Deal: Hand out cards from the top of the deck.

Deal seconds: Hand out two cards from the top of the deck.

Deal middles: Handing out cards using the performer's stomach as a table.

Deal bottoms: (You don't want to know.)

Dirty: When a magician tries to cover up the fact that a method has been exposed by making extremely off-color jokes.

Disappearance: When a hired magician just doesn't show up.

Distraction: See Misdirection.

Ditch: Where a magician gets thrown if he's caught second dealing during a legitimate poker game.

Double lift: A British building with two elevators.

Dovetail shuffle : When cards are shuffled by trained birds.

Effect: Whatever it was that the magician was attempting to do.

Egg bag: The bag in which a magician's lunch is carried.

Elmsley count: A method of determining how many Elmsleys are in a room.

Escape: Using skill and trickery to get out of something that you shouldn't have been in in the first place (straight jacket, flaming rope, spiked death trap, expensive restaurant, etc.).

Fakir: A magician who specializes in fire walking, lying on a bed of nails, hammering spikes into his nose, etc., because other kinds of magic require too much practice.

False shuffle: Pretending to have trouble walking so the audience will sympathyze with the magician.

False transfer: Using slight of hand to switch busses without paying extra.

Faro: A city in North Dakota. Magicians moving toward Faro are said to be "doing an in Faro," while magicians moving away from the fabled city are "doing an out Faro."

Flash: An in-trick clothing malfunction.

Flourish: Doing something fancy to extend the length of a trick because you are being paid by the hour.

Force: Making a spectator do something they do not intend to do, such as believe that these are not the droids they are looking for.

French drop: A feat of daring in which the magician jumps off the Eiffel Tower.

Gimmick: Whatever it is that a magician does to stand out from other magicians. For example, a magician might be known for working with white tigers, performing feats of endurance, constructing large-scale illusions, having one red fingernail, or getting abusive when restaurant patrons don't tip.

Glide: To walk without moving the feet.

Glimpse: To slyly steal a look at an attractive spectator during a performance.

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The information on this site is intended for use only by those with a sincere desire to learn nothing about magic and is for entertainment purposes only (in other words, don't try this stuff, particularly the dangerous parts). The Magicians Assistance Collective (MAC) frowns upon the use of magic in the formation of religions or to attract a cult following.